Day 2 "Scotts North Trip " Cody, Wyoming - River rafting, gun fights and a Rodeo

The easy riders

The "Fun" group (name given by my Dad, the trip planner)

Love Tyson's (my brother) face in this photo! He and Ben thought they would be fine without rain gear. So I'm pretty sure that's how they ended up in the front :)

My face (smack in the middle)- true bliss right there!!!

Our first adventure on Saturday morning, bright and early, was White water rafting down the Shoshone River. My brother Cameron asked if he could wear some protective rain gear because he literally turns blue in water and gets so cold. We all poked fun until our guide told us there was ice on the river the day before and the water temperature that day was 32 degrees!!!!!!! So we all quickly grabbed some rain gear!

We split into two groups- the easy ride for younger kids (Berkleigh, Merrick, Jacob, Nataleigh), Megan, Jana, Grandpa and recent brain surgery survivor, Jen. 

Then the "Fun" group (Tyson, "Smitty", Ben, Mackenzie, David, Cameron, Me, and Brooke) which rafted down class 4 rapids. It was so beautiful and the weather was perfect. Tyson and I felt like we could really breathe! Without the humidity of Virginia, we were taking in deep breathes and soaking in the 75 degree weather. The surroundings were amazing, almost fake looking because it all seemed like it was taken straight from a book. 

I started out paddling on one side of the boat but about half way down the river I switched with Cameron (who was in the middle of the boat) because I had lost feeling in my feet- it was SOOOOOO COLD!!!! Every time the water would splash up into the boat, it would take our breathe away. But being cold was worth the experience. Our guide told us we were one of the best groups that have ever floated down the river and he's been doing this for ten years. He said we really listened, had fun, and everyone was helpful. Woohoo!

Successful trip!! One of my favorite memories was the lunch our group had, put on by the Rafting crew. It was simple- build your own sandwich, salads, water, and cheese cake. But what I loved most was sitting as a group talking about river rafting, how we were still frozen, music, jobs etc… Such a great time!

While the big kids and adults went River rafting, Grandma watched 5 kids under 4.5 years old. It was no small feet but she rocked it! Hadleigh and Taryn even got their toes and finger nails painted. Quincy painted grandma's toes and did such a great job ;) 

Some of the group went to the Buffalo Bill's Museum in-between events and enjoyed learning more about the area, Buffalo Bill , and watching the bird show. 

We grabbed our seats for the Gun Fight outside the Buffalo Bill's Irma Hotel (where we were staying) and watched as Annie Oakley, Calamity Jane and other western outlaws fight it out, loud guns and all. 

These two were inseparable the whole trip. The first thing Taryn would ask for in the morning was "Cousins!!!" and would ask where Nataleigh was if they ever got separated. It was so sweet to see our girls get so much cousin time in. We hardly ever saw Taryn during the day because if we were on the rode, she was in the Rasmussen RV. Couldn't have been a better place the the cousins to gather on our long road trip stretches. Hadleigh did miss her car riding buddy though. Hadleigh had already mastered baby Margot's name before the trip but now she says "Keense" (Quincy), "Nahlee" (Nataleigh), "Berkee" (Berkleigh) all the time!

The gun fire scared Hadleigh so much that she burst into tears and Tyson had to take her off to the side.

Our next activity on Saturday was a Rodeo! It was really fun to get all dressed up in our cowboy garbs. This was about the time I realized I had forgotten to pack Tyson's cowboy shirt and white shirt for Sunday. Cody, Wyoming Walmart to the rescue! I think I grabbed a white shirt and this cowboy shirt within seconds and ran to the register. When your schedule is planned to a tee, making little unplanned stops like this have to be super quick!

I asked Hadleigh to show me her hat so she flipped around and posed. 

Then there was more posing from these cute girls! I love that Hadleigh put her hands up on her sides like that for the photos. I have no idea where she got that from but it's just adorable!

Showing off their matching shirts and little boots! (Thanks for the great friend Aunt Megan!)

This is definitely my new favorite photo of me and my girls!

Ugh- I just couldn't watch this stuff. It made my insides hurt and I'm pretty sure I was more jumpy than the actual riders. Can't believe people willingly sign up for this!

The kids were called out to the field for a fun little game of trying to catch a little calf. The kids were hilarious ! Taryn is the little pink running girl

"Hi, Mom!"

Grandma and Grandpa and baby Margot

Cameron and Dad

Best buddies!

Watching the Rodeo. Hadleigh kept wondering down the bleachers and so we had to distract her to not get in the way of those walking up and down and watching the Rodeo. So phone to the rescue! I was surprised that the rodeo was hard for Taryn to watch too. She would have rather been running up and down the bleachers. We had a hard time keeping her out of peoples way and sitting (one thing she doesn't like to do!) - phew! 

Grandpa and baby Margot

I think this picture of Cameron perfectly encompasses how everyone felt at the end of the day! Actually, at the end of each day! :) 

Day 1 Continued "Scott North Trip" a look into our flights out to the Mid West

Although this will be a shorter story, it is still very note worthy. 

The First Day of our Trip- Getting to Cody, Wyoming. (because I already mentioned what we did when we finally got there!)

On the first airplane, before all the yucky stuff.

We got on our first flight at 4pm Friday the 19th of June. Our first flight was 4 hours long and we were totally prepared, we thought. We had snacks, games, phones charged to play with, dvd player, special little new toys etc…. Tyson and I sat across the aisle from each other, each of us having one girl seated next to us.

We were doing great. 

The girls kinda slept for most of the flight and played well for the other half. Towards the end, it was a really turbulent ride and I was feeling sick. That's the down side of traveling for me because I am getting progressively worse when it comes to getting car, air, or motion sickness. So because I have thrown up in the past, I gave Hadleigh to Tyson while we landed and I tried to focus on not loosing it. We landed and I thought I was in the clear, which, I guess I was. But Tyson was not. 

Hadleigh threw up all over Tyson and it was nasty!!!

Before our second flight and a change of newly purchased clothes, Hadleigh posed with her throw up bag filled with gross clothes we ended up throwing away (good thing it was all 2n -3rd hand)

Tyson does not do well with throw up at all. Really, it's right up there with spiders for him. So this really was the worst case scenario. Thankfully I had thought we might need an extra costco sized bag of wipes (seriously! Yes- I went with the prompting though it's super heavy) and I am SOOOO glad I did. The only thing we didn't pack was an extra change of clothes for everyone. Each flight in the past, we have always packed an  extra change of clothes for each of us in our carry ons, just in case our bags get lost. But packing for this trip was SUPER last minute and Tys and I decided to ditch the extra carry on clothes because we have never used them in the past.  

Packing the day off. Super stressful.

Anyways- we got off the plane and I sent Tyson looking for new clothes to change into because he smelled so bad and Hadleigh was already stripped down to her diaper. Apparently no one sells shorts, just shirts, so Hadleigh had a shirt dress and Tyson bought a matching Denver shirt for himself. Still half stinky, Tyson rode the next flight. It nearly killed him to be in stinky clothes that long. He is a VERY VERY clean person especially when it comes to clothes. He said he could only smell throw up the whole time. Ugh. We had about 5 throw up bags ready the whole 2nd flight.

We landed in Cody, Wyoming stinky and tired. Then straight to pictures right after (no change of clothes for us!) It was a LONG day!!!! 

Day 1 Scotts "North Trip" Cody, Wyoming

This trip was epic!

 That really is the best word to describe a vacation where you gather 23 people from all over the country to "Meet in the Middle." 

In 1996, the Scott family embarked on a "Last Hurrah" trip before Megan went to college and my siblings serving LDS missions made it impossible to gather as a whole family for trips. We took 2 weeks to travel across the country through Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South and North Carolina and Virginia (where we met for a Scott Family Reunion.) This trip was named "The South Trip" and that's how we refer to it today.So it's fitting that almost 20 years later we gather together with many new family members added. 

My Dad is a master trip planner and had every detailed planned and accounted for. Tyson was amazed as he looked at the itinerary throughout the day and we would pull up to a location at the exact time my Dad had scheduled. I think it was an amazing accomplishment taking into consideration that there were 23 people ( 10 of them under 13) and that most of our days started just before 8am each day and ended around 10pm. 

After a long day of traveling for most of us, we met in Cody, Wyoming to start our road trip. It was 10pm by the time the last group arrived, that being Tyson, Taryn, Hadleigh and I. We headed straight to this Old Time Western Photo studio. I'm still amazed that there were no melt downs from anyone (kids included) after a long day of traveling and those hot costumes. I love these photos and how we took it on to make them authentic with our "no smiles" as encouraged by the photographer. 

There is so much to share and so many great pictures and memories made! Here is the ending of the first day.

The group of 23 (missing Brittany and Ashleigh's families) 

Dad and Mom, the master trip planners!!!

Megan, David, Ethan, Nataleigh, Jacob and Oliver

Cameron and Jana

Tyson, Jen, Merrick, Berkleigh, and Quincy

Tyson, Brianna, Taryn and Hadleigh

Mackenzie, Ben and Margot

Brooke

Siblings and parents

These two little sisters

I tried so hard to get a good picture of Taryn and Hadleigh, ya know, both looking at the camera and smiling, but what I got was a bit different and a lot silly. 

Like these dancing photos. Hadleigh tries so hard to do everything Taryn does. Sometimes, it turns out super funny especially for an almost 2 year old!

I love this one because Taryn hugged Hadleigh free willingly. 

Love that sister love!!!!!

I also love that Taryn let me do her hair. And braids!!! I kid you not, I've had to add "Doing your hair" to her chore chart so she will let me even brush it!!! Her curly hair has presented lots of problems and we continue to search for easy solutions. But until then, we will continue to bribe with incentives and maybe a few video clips to get her hair done each day. 

Taryn has been jumping in a lot lately to help her little sister. Hadleigh doesn't seem to mind being carried (while I supervise!) and she adores her big sister so Hadleigh is more than happy to have the help. I know they will probably fight when they're older…hey…they fight now…but I really hope these kind sisterly acts continue and their love for one another continues to grow.